Apparatus for dyeing slivers



Aug. 9, 1960 Escl-1012 APPARATUS Foa mmm;4 sLIvERs Filed 001;. 21, 1957 R17 4 s J W W., P w Il. E

nited States Patent() Mice j APPARATUS FOR DYEING SLIVERS Erwin Schtz, Kaiserslautern, Germany, assignor to Kammgarnspinnerei Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany, a firm of Germany Filed Oct. 21, 1957, Ser. No. 691,403

Claims priority, application Germany Oct. 22, 1956 2 Claims. (Cl. 68-187) The present invention relates to an apparatus for dyeing slivers which is provided with a loading device to act upon the slivers during the dyeing operation.

Prior to this invention, slivers were dyed by attaching the spools or bobbins carrying the slivers on perforated tubes which were mounted in the dyeing apparatus. It is also known to wind the slivers upon perforated tubes which are designed so as to permit them to be inserted directly into the dyeing apparatus. In both cases, these perforated tubes serve for supplying the dye liquor to the sliver bobbins or for passing it oif therefrom. Since the materials to be dyed, especially wool, change in volume in the course of the actual dyeing process, most known sliver dyeing apparatus are provided with means for compressing the sliver bobbins in their axial direction. For this purpose, the earlier dyeing apparatus were provided with loading weights, while the more recent dyeing apparatus contain spindles which are usually adjustable by hand and are adapted to be screwed down upon metal plates which are placed upon the free end of the bobbin in the dyeing apparatus and by means of the pressure to be exerted through the spindle transmit such pressure in the axial direction upon the sliver bobbin. These known means do not permit any adjustment of the axial pressure to which the material to be dyed is subjected and they also do not permit such pressure to be uniformly maintained during the entire dyeing process, or to vary it in a manner as may be desirable. i

It is an object of the present invention to overcome these disadvantages and to provide an apparatus for dyeing slivers which includes a loading device by means of which a uniform pressure or any desired pressure may be applied upon the slivers which are inserted into the dyeing apparatus in order to be dyed therein.

This object may be attained according to the present invention by providing a loading device which permits the load upon the cover to be adjusted by means of an automatically acting pressure device so that the pressure upon .the slivers will remain uniform even though the volume of the material to be dyed might change during the actual dyeing process. An important feature of the present invention consists inthe fact that the slivers `are acted upon by the loading device when they are placed into the perforated insert of the dyeing apparatus similarly to the known manner of depositinglor coiling slivers` in a can, The device according to the invention for exerting the pressure upon the slivers consists of a pressure member which may.beplaced upon a i cover which'acts upon the slivers within the dyeing apparatus and, in turn, may be subjected to an adjustable pressure.

According to one embodiment ofthe invention, this pressure device is designed so that a compression cylinder is mounted on the upper side of the pressure member and that a piston in the cylinder is acted upon by a pressure medium which isfed into the cylinder.

According to another embodiment, a helical compresj V2,948,137 Patented Aug. 9, 1960` sion spring is mounted on the upper side of the pressure member and the pressure of said spring is adapted to be adjusted by means of a nut which may be screwedalong a threaded spindle.

Further objects, features, and advantages vof the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description thereof, particularly when read with, reference to the accompanying drawings, in whichvFig. 1 illustrates a vertical cross section of a part of the sliver dyeing apparatus according to the invention.

f with the new loading device thereon; while Fig. 2 illustrates a vertical cross section through al loading device according to a modification.

Referring to the drawings, and rst particularly to Fig. l, the slivers 1 to `be dyed are first wound upon or` slipped over a perforated tubular sleeve 2 and are then surrounded by `the perforated container 3. The whole unit consisting of the slivers 1, the perforated tube 2 and the container 3 is then inserted into the dyeing apparatus. Container 3 has a bottom 4 which may be attached by a removable fitting 6 to the end of the feed pipe S through which the dye liquor is supplied. to the dyeing apparatus. Fitting 6 is designed so as to form a tight seal relative to the end of feed pipe 5 and' also relative to the inner wall of thelower end of the perforated tube 2 which rests upon the bottom 4 of container 3'. This bottom 4 may be rigidly secured to the wall of container 3 or it may be provided at its outer edge with a flange 7 into which container 3 may be inserted so that the two parts may be separated from each other. After the slivers 1 are inserted intothe dyeing apparatus either before or after the insertion of container 3, a cover 8 which fits loosely over the perforated tube 2 and also loosely into container 3 is placed upon the upper surface of slivers 1.

A preferred manner of depositing the slivers into the dyeing apparatus consists in inserting the slivers outside of the dyeing apparatus into a container similar to container 3 as above described and in the form of helical superimposedA coils by means of a coiler as used for the coiling of slivers in cans. A container which is filled in this manner may then be immediately inserted into the dyeing apparatus.

The load is applied in either case upon the cover 8 by means of a loading device which is disposed above the cover` According to the embodiment of the invention as illustrated in Fig. l, this loading device consists of -a tubular press-ure member 9 which may be slipped over and around the perforated tube 2 so as to act upon cover 8, `and which forms a single unit together with a compression cylinder 10 which is secured to its upper end. lPressure member 9 may be of any suitable shape although it is preferably cylindrical. A piston rod 111 extends through pressure member 9 and compression cylinder 10, and the lower end thereof within pressure member 9 is removably secured to a cover disk `12 which is rigidly secured to the `perforated tube 2. The lower part of piston rod 11 also serves for guiding the pressure member 9 and cylinder 10 during their movement in the vertical direction by means of a stuffing box 13 which surrounds piston rod 11 and seals cylinder 10 relative to pressure member `9. Within cylinder '10, piston rod 11 is secured to a piston 14 which,l in` turn, carries on its upper side facing toward the cover of cylinder 10 a rod 15, the upper end of which outside of cylinder 10 is preferably provided with a ring-shaped member. 'llhe compression cylinder `10 further has near its lower end an inlet socket for attaching the feed pipe 16 for the pressure medium which is provided with a three-way Valve 17.

The-operation of the` new loading device is as follows:

After the slivers 1 which are Wound upon or slipped over tube 2 and are surrounded by container 3 are inserted -int'o the'dye'ing apparatus, cover 8 is placed. uponIthe-up'per side of the slivers. within container 3' whereupon the loading device `is;I applied `thereon. For this purpose the ring-shaped end on rod 15 is turned to-screw piston rodi 151- into the cover disk 112 which is rigidly secured to tube tlf the pressure medium is then passed through feed pipe 416 into compression cylinder 10, the latter will move downwardly together with pressure member 9, that is, in the direction toward the bottom of the dyeing apparatus, since piston 1-4 is stationary by being secured tol cover'disk `1.2 through pistonV rod 11 soy that the pressure withiny cylinder 10 can only act in thev direction toward the bottom of the cylinder. The pressure which is to be exerted by pressure member 9"upon cover `8 is therefore adjustable. The dyeing process is carried out inl the usual manner by feeding the dye liquor into the dyeing apparatus through pipe 5 and circulating the same thereinV by means of a pump. During this time, the load upon cover 8 will remain the same even though the material which is being dyed mightl change in volume during the dyeing operation. lIf desired, it is also possible to change the pressure upon cover 8 by changing the amount of pressure produced by the pressure medium. After tfhe dyeing process has been completed, the loading device may be removed very simply by turning the three-way valve 17 so as to allow the pressure medium to flow out of cylinderA 10 so that pressure member 9 may then be shifted and the connection of piston rod 11 with cover disk 12 may be easily disengaged.

Fig. 2 illustrates another embodiment of the loading device according tothe invention in which the compression cylinder with the piston therein as illustrated in Fig. l is replaced by an adjustable helical compression spring 19, while the arrangement of the pressure member 9 is the same as shown in Fig. 1. In this case, piston rod 11 which is inserted in the tubular pressure member 9 is provided at its upper part above pressure member 9 with screw threads 18. The lower end of cornpression spring 19 acts upon the upper side of pressure member 9, and the upper end of the spring rests against and is coveredby a bearing disk 20 which is adjustable relative to pressure member 9 by means of a hand crank 21 which is screwed upon the threads l18 on piston rod 11. It is thus possible to adjust the pressure exerted upon pressure member 9 and thus upon cover 8 in a similar lmanner asin the first embodiment. The amount or distance which. spring 19 is compressed by turning crank 21, Iand which may be calibrated, determines the amount of pressure exerted upon-cover 8.

The present invention thus attains an apparatus for dyein-g slivers whioh is provided with a loading device which is capable of maintaining the required pressure upon the slivers while the dyeing process is being carried out and even though the material to be dyed might change in volume during the dyeing process.

Although my invention has been illustrated and described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, I wish to have it understood that it is in no way limited tothe details of such embodiments, butis capable of numerous modilications within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus fully disclosed my invention, what I claim is:

l. In an apparatus for dyeing slivers: a perforated container with a bottom and an open end for receiving sliver to be dyed, a perforated tube substantially centrally arranged within said container and defining therewith a chamber for receiving slivers to be dyed, said perforated tube having a closed upper end and having an opening at its lower end, conduit means leading into said perforated tube through Vsaid opening and adapted to beV connectedwith' a .dyeing liquor supply source for feeding dyeing liquor into said perforated tube and through the latter into said sliver receiving chamber, a cover adapted to be loosely inserted into said container and around said perforated tube for acting upon the upper surface of slivers received in said sliver receiving chamber, and a uid yoperable cylinder piston system arranged for connection with a pressure uid source and comprising a stationary plunger ixedly but detachably connected to said perforated tube and also comprising a movable member forming the cylinder for said plunger and having a` tubular extension operable telescopically to move over said perforated tube and to act upon said cover for movingV the latter relative to said tube.

2. In any apparatus for dyeing slivers: a perforated container with a bottom and an `open end for receiving sliver to be dyed, a perforated tube substantially centrally arranged within .said container and dening therewith a chamber for receiving slivers to be dyed, said perforated tube having a closed upper end and having an opening at its lower end, first conduit means leading into said: perforated tube through said opening and adapted to be connectedy with a dyeing liquor supply source for feeding dyeingy liquor into said perforated tube and through theA latter into said sliver receiving chamber, a cover adaptedV to be loosely inserted into said container and around saidf perforated tube for acting upon the upper surface of slivers received in said sliver receiving chamber, a tubular pressure member operable to exert pressure upon said cover for moving the same relative to said tube, said pressure member having an inner diameter exceeding the outer diameter of said perforated tube so as to be movable over said perforatedv tube in spaced relationship thereto, a cylinder substantially axially aligned with said tubular pressure member and mounted on the latter while being connected thereto, a piston mounted in said cylinder, a piston rod connected to said piston and detachably connecting the latter to said closed end of said perforated tube, and second conduit means leading into said cylinder at a'` point located between said piston and said tubular pressure member and adapted to be connected to a pressure fluid supply source for conveying pressure Huid between said piston and said tubular pressure memberto thereby causethe latter to move said cover relative to said perforated tube for maintaining sliver in said container under substantially uniform pressure dur-ing the dyeing operation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 329,483 Pfad Nov. 3, 1885 2,092,126 Laird Sept. 7, 1937 2,207,899 Seymour July 16, 1940 2,418,740 Traver' Apr. 8, 1947 2,831,747 Gould Apr. 22, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 236,000 Switzerland May 1, 1945' 

